In the 1980s in Canada, Wayne Pearson laughed at a joke，,instead of writing “hahaha” as he had done before when he found something funny, Pearson unknowingly made history by typing “lol”, becoming the very first person to do so. When Pearson described the creation of lol, he explained how he intended for it to be used: only if you were really laughing out loud. Of course, this is not how we use lol today.
在20 世纪 80 年代的加拿大，韦恩·皮尔逊被一则笑话逗笑了，但皮尔逊并没有像他以前发现有趣的东西时那样写“哈哈哈”，而是在不知不觉中创造了历史，他打出了“ lol ”，成为了第一个这么使用的人。当皮尔逊描述lol的创造时，他解释了只有当你真正地放声大笑时，才使用它。当然，现在的 lol 已经不是这么用的了。
How to use "lol" today
如今怎样使用“lol”
lol morphed into a kind of punctuation mark—assumed a remarkably expansive linguistic role through the ways we use it in our daily communication. Many people often go a few texts or Slack messages with an lol. Some sentences feel like they need a lol at the beginning or end to communicate the tone I’m trying to convey, or seem harsh or grating without an lol.
lol演变成了一种标点符号——通过我们在日常交流中使用的方式，它承担了非常广泛的语言角色，在日常交流中使扮演了一个非常广泛的语言角色。很多人在短信或Slack信息中经常加 lol，有些句子感觉需要在开头或结尾加一个 lol来表达想表达的语气，或者在没有lol的情况下就会显得刺耳。
We use lol as a way of downplaying a statement; adding irony, levity, humility, empathy, or commiseration; expressing amusement; or just neutral acknowledgment. lol is better linguistically described as a discourse marker that communicate a person’s attitude, and enhance the meaning of a sentence, without being specifically descriptive of that meaning.
我们使用 lol 作为一种淡化陈述的方式；添加讽刺、轻浮、谦卑、同情或同情怜悯；表达娱乐；或者只是中性的承认。lol在语言学中被描述为一个话语标记，它传达一个人的态度，并增强句子的意思，而不是具体地描述那个意思。
Discourse markers
Discourse markers are words that help structure a sentence, or orient fragments of text to context.
话语标记语是帮助构建一个句子，或引导文本片段与上下文。
【A wrong way to use lol】 :
lol evolved in a non-random way, they also have grammar and rules. A person who uses lol to respond to everything might have expressed a confusing message or tone. As the BBC wrote in 2011, some older people have mistaken lol for lots of love, “leading to some unintended ‘lols’, such as ‘Your grandmother has just passed away. lol.’”
lol是以非随机的方式进化的，它们也有语法和规则。如果一个人用lol来回复任何事，也会表达出令人困惑的信息或语气。正如BBC在2011年写的那样，一些老年人将lol误认为是“lots of love”，“导致了一些意想不到的‘lol’,比如‘你的奶奶刚刚去世了。哈哈。’”
Changeable “lol”
多变的“lol”
In the YouTube comments, Schneebeli found that the positioning of lol in a sentence affects its meaning. When lol is at the end of a sentence, it’s more often a pragmatic marker. When used in isolation—which Schneebeli called a “standalone lol”—it has a more simple expressive role: it communicates a reaction, like amusement.
在YouTube评论中，施内贝利发现lol在句子中的位置会影响句子的意思。当lol在句末时，它通常是一个语用标记。当单独地使用时——施内贝利称之为“独立的lol”——它有一个更简单的表达作用：它传达着一种反应，比如娱乐。
... And then he says,
"Your mom goes tocollege!"
lol.
在此例句中，B也许并没有觉得真的好笑，只是传达着一种反应。
lol could also be viewed as having a “phatic language function,” a concept from the Russian linguist Roman Jakobson. Jakobson thought there were six functions of verbal communication: the phatic function is when language is used for social connection, even if it doesn’t pass along information.
lol也可以被视为具有“寒暄语言功能”，这是由俄罗斯语言学家罗曼·雅各布森提出的概念。雅各布森认为语言交流有六种功能：寒暄功能是指语言用于社会联系，即使它不传达信息。
Hey, are you doing anything tonight? You could come over to my house and play some Unreal Tournie...
lol, ok.
在此例句中，lol没有传达信息，只是一种习概用法。
Consider sending or receiving the text “I’m so depressed lol.” It might seem paradoxical to add an lol, but the way we’ve grown to use lol helps us to reach out and communicate difficult feelings. In this context, lol means “Don’t take this too seriously, but it’s also a bid for connection,” said Rachel Weissler, a sociolinguist at the University of Oregon.
想想当你发送或接收这样的短信：“我很沮丧，哈哈。”加上一个lol似乎有点矛盾，但我们使用lol的方式有助于我们伸出援手并传达困难的感受。俄勒冈大学社会语言学家雷切尔·威斯勒说，在这种情况下，lol的意思是“别太当真，这也是建立联系的一种方式”。
Similar examples might be “I don't know how I'm going to finish all these slides for class lol,” or “I can’t believe we’re living through a pandemic, lol.” These are ways of communicating a frustrating or upsetting experience, paired with a call for commiseration.
类似的例子比如“我不知道我要怎么在课堂上看完所有这些幻灯片，哈哈”，或者“我不敢相信我们正在经历一场疫情，哈哈”。这些都是传达令人沮丧或悲伤经历的方式，也伴随着对同情的呼吁。
A better future of “lol”
“lol”的未来和发展
When asked about the future of lol, Weissler said that she doesn’t think it’s going anywhere. “Lol has been used for more than 20 years now,” Schneebeli agreed. “It has blended in the background of digital conversation.”
谈及未来，威斯勒说她不认为lol会消失。“lol已经使用了20多年，”施内贝利也表示同意。“它已经融入了数字对话的背景。”
People even say lol out loud now; it has gone full circle from being text that references language, becoming part of the spoken lexicon again. Weissler does think lol will remain in casual language arenas, and that it will continue to be a vehicle of connection.
人们现在甚至大声说lol，它已经从引用语言的文本中转了一圈，再次成为了口语词典的一部分。威斯勒认为lol将留在休闲语言领域，并将继续成为交际的工具。
Will laughing emojis outcompete lol? What about “haha?” These are questions for future linguists. Schneebeli said that it’s still a debated question as to the comparison and competition between lol and haha.
笑的表情符号会胜过lol吗？"haha"呢？这些都是未来语言学家的问题。施内贝利说，关于lol和haha之间的比较和竞争，仍然是一个有争议的问题。
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词汇：
1. linguistic adj. 语言的; 语言学的
例：She is pursuing her linguistic researches.
她在从事语言学的研究。
2. paradoxical adj. 矛盾的; 反常的
例：This ambiguity may seem paradoxical.
这种模棱两可的说法似乎自相矛盾。
原文链接：
https://www.vice.com/en/article/akvqgk/why-we-use-lol-so-much
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/katieheaney/the-12-meanings-of-lol
编辑 | 肖圣育 马文静 曼尔飞娜
排版 | 肖圣育
